Welcome to the most controversial BMW of all, the XM. When BMW announced it would make a second standalone M car, Bimmer fans worldwide were left salivating. Was BMW going to put the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 from an M5 CS into the middle of the modernized M1 concept it showcased a few years ago? Uhm, no.
Instead, the Germans went as far as possible in the other direction, and consumers are to blame for the result. The world doesn’t want mid-engine supercars anymore – it wants high-performance SUVs that ooze wealth, but not necessarily sophistication, and that’s how we ended up here.
The XM does have its strong points. It has an interior so sublime that it was named Best Interior in the 2023 DrivingOnRoad Awards. It can also do around 30 miles on electricity only, and it’s arguably the most practical M car ever made.
But there’s a problem. No BMW M customer has ever entered a dealership looking for electric-only range and practicality. “What I like most about my BMW M is how practical and efficient it is,” said no BMW driver in the history of the world.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the second-only standalone M vehicle.
Exterior: You Either Hate It Or Dislike It
BMW hit a nail on the head with this car – not necessarily the nail we’d have liked it to hit, but when we spoke to BMW M boss a few months ago, he said the XM was designed to turn heads. That’s precisely what it does. Several people came up to me to congratulate me on a life well-lived, seemingly proven by the $160,000 car I was driving. If only.
In my opinion, the exterior is a mess. There are far too many lines, the wheel arches are awkward and make the 22s look small, and it has a face that even its mother would kick to the curb. The only acceptable angle is directly from the rear. That way, you get to enjoy the stacked quad tailpipes and the two BMW badges on the sides of the rear windshield, which is a throwback to the original M1.
Living with it for a few days, you soon realize that it’s either a case of love or hate. Someone, somewhere, probably likes the design, but personally, I don’t. It’s worth pointing out that I have a distaste for all SUVs that aren’t built for off-roading and that I’m a firm believer that sedans will always be better than crossovers and road-biased SUVs.
Finished in black, the XM looks like the automotive version of Darth Vader’s helmet. Perhaps it’s just one of those designs that gets better over time, but it has been nearly a year since the XM was unveiled, and it still does nothing but remind me how convoluted and strange the automotive industry has become.
Powertrain: Meh
The XM uses a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 paired with a plug-in hybrid system to produce 644 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. But that’s not the full story. Once the battery is depleted, the V8 only produces 483 hp and 479 lb-ft, and this hunk of an SUV weighs more than 6,000 pounds.
BMW claims it will sprint to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, which is relatively quick but not as quick as most cars with an M badge. Surely, you’d want more from the ultimate M car.
Still, with the battery fully charged, the power delivery is effortless. The XM picks up speed rapidly and will dust several sports and muscle cars, but we were hoping it would feel more potent. In this instance, it’s a case of less is more. The BMW X5 M uses the same 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 but tuned to deliver 617 hp. It does without the plug-in accessories and is all the better for it. We’ve spent a significant amount of time behind the wheel of the X5 M, and we’re 100% certain it would run circles around the XM. The XM weighs too much, and once you’ve drained the battery and the electric motor is no longer there to provide the additional shove, it just doesn’t feel special enough.
Driving Impression: There Are Better BMWs
The first thing you notice is the sharpness of the steering. Like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, this is not the kind of car where you can look down and mess around with infotainment settings because, when you look up, you’ve made three lane changes. We like direct, communicative steering, so we’ll give the XM a point for that.
The M xDrive all-wheel-drive system and M differential are also perfectly tuned for regular driving and fun. Denver’s roads were cold and wet, so the system worked overtime to keep the car in a straight line. It was still equipped with summer tires, so it was a bit of a battle, but from behind the steering wheel, the car felt composed and safe.
The suspension setup completely spoils the car, however. For some reason, you can’t have an XM with air suspension, and the adaptive dampers don’t do a good enough job. On more than one occasion, the car felt almost comically bumpy and unable to cope with the most basic imperfections in the road. Checking the drive mode you’re in is essential, but even Comfort mode isn’t as comfortable as it could be.
It’s strange because BMW knows how to build a car with a proper split personality. The M5 is the perfect example: It goes from a docile suburban cruiser to a sideways-sliding monster at the touch of a button, so how did Bimmer get it so wrong with the XM?
In the sportier modes, you can almost forgive the stiff suspension. The exhaust is also tuned to pop and bang more, but it’s not a particularly pleasing sound. That being said, all automotive enthusiasts love certain childish features, and I lifted off the throttle just to hear the V8 cackle a bit.
The driving experience lets the whole car down, if only because several other BMW products do a better job. If you want the ultimate go-fast SUV with the famous blue and white roundel, buy an X5 M. If you want a stupidly quick family car, get an M5. And if you want the best BMW driving experience, go for an M2. The XM doesn’t do anything that another BMW M product isn’t already doing better, and that’s a big fail considering this is only the second car made entirely by the M department.
Interior: The Best Part
The XM claws back some big brownie points back on the inside, however, especially when you sit in the back. The rear seats are wonderfully plush, and you get a nice little pillow if you want to catch up on some sleep. This car’s interior is the reason why it won a DrivingOnRoad Award, and we can’t downplay that.
The quality of the materials is excellent, and BMW’s infotainment is right up there with the best. The brand’s leather-wrapped M steering wheel with the M shortcut buttons is perfect, and the blend of black Merino leather and carbon fiber trim is stunning.
We also like the stubby M-specific shifter with an integrated park button. You can also set the ferocity of the regenerative braking directly from the shifter if you want to fill up the battery on the go.
The front seats are less user-friendly. They would have been sublime in any other BMW product because they’re firm and provide support in all the right places. But combined with the poor adaptive damping, they feel rock hard and unforgiving.
We’ll end this section by giving the XM another compliment to balance things out a bit. The MSRP of the XM is $160,000, and as tested, this unit costs $165,895. It comes fully loaded, except for the $3,400 Bowers & Wilkens sound system and the $2,500 M Drivers Package, which is essentially a higher top speed and a day’s worth of driver training. Everything else is included in the price, which is not something you come across often when buying German.
Practicality: Family Friendly
The BMW may look massive on the outside, but it’s about as spacious as an X5 on the inside. There’s enough space for five, though the person sitting in the middle of the back seat won’t be as comfortable as those on the outboard perches. All seats have more than enough head and legroom, even with the driver’s seat set as far back as possible.
The trunk is relatively large, though you might struggle to fit in enough luggage for the whole family for a week. Overall, it’s a decent interior space with enough storage and charging points for the whole family. BMW’s theater screen may not be an option, but the kids can keep their devices charged, which will keep them happy.
Pricing And Verdict: Buy Another BMW – Or Two
The XM has an MSRP of $159,000. That makes it a relative bargain compared to other high-end performance SUVs like the Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX, and Bentley Bentayga. But while the BMW brand is prestigious, it’s not as prestigious as those mentioned above.
As we mentioned earlier, the BMW also struggles to compete with its brothers and sisters within the BMW range. Far too many better alternatives exist, not just from BMW but from the automotive world in general. We’d buy an X5 M over this without thinking twice and still have enough left over to get a used-but-in-good-condition previous-gen M2 with a manual transmission.
It’s a sad state of affairs when the best thing you can say about an M car is that the rear seat comfort is the best thing about it. If BMW had called this an X8, it would likely have less criticism leveled at it. But it carries an M badge, creating all sorts of expectations that the XM doesn’t live up to.